ABSTRACT
Decision-makers within open and distance education see the role of institutional research and evaluation in a variety of different ways. Among the models most commonly drawn upon are the Quality Assurance, Market Research, Institutional Planning and Educational Psychology models. Each of these perspectives has rather different implications for the type of research and evaluation which an institution undertakes. This chapter will discuss the effects of these different perspectives on the likelihood of an institution achieving the status of a self-improving organisation.
